DOUG SAUNDERS Where the Successful Author Sees

The magazine on the FrankfurtRhineMain metropolitan region LOCATION Why Hessen is so successful INNOVATIONS How FinTechs are changing the financial centre LOCATION What Frankfurt comes top in THOMAS DEININGER Why the head-hunter recommends FRM DOUG SAUNDERS Where the successful author sees “Arrival Cities” in FRM PERSPECTIVE Which digital services Frankfurt Airport will offer in future Issue 2016 > English Places to go Edition The hippest locations in FrankfurtRhineMain Lock into the network, shape the future SHARPENING THE region’s PROFILE SINCE 1996 STIMULATOR AND VOICE OF BUSINESS METROPOLITAN REGION FRANKFURTRHEINMAIN EXCLUSIVE NETWORK OF DECISION-MAKERS OVER 120 1.000 GUESTS AT EVENTS LEADING COMPANIES EACH YEAR Wirtschaftsinitiative, the Business Initiative, brings together the key minds and entrepreneurs in the region who want to keep FrankfurtRhineMain firmly moving. Our members are at home in the metropolitan region in a dual sense. They champion their region. And they all share the conviction that only a metropolitan business region which acts together offers the best future prospects for both the people and corporations. The Business Initiative – Entrepreneurs for FrankfurtRhineMain. A commitment that pays off for you! www.die-wirtschaftsinitiative.de // Editorial FRANKFURT TURNS KEY FACTORS ARRIVING INTO A SENSE TAKE THE OF BELONGING LIMELIGHT Arrival City Frankfurt: Frankfurt is almost Do you know Doug Saunders? The British- unparalleled in Germany in its function as an Canadian journalist travelled to growing me- “arrival city”. In other words, it is predestined tropolises the world over and studied how ‘new to be a city not only where many people arrive, because it has the arrivals’ fare in them. In his book “Arrival City” he presents the right infrastructure in the form of the airport, the main railroad intriguing hypothesis that integration is successful above all in station and the autobahn connections. It is able to fulfil such a the marginal districts of the big cities. He suggests we must pay role so well because it is not a cul-de-sac where you get stuck – more attention to these fascinating, busy, improvised places, after the friendly welcome here things progress. I like to tell populated by people with great intentions. He has identified guests that it does not matter where they come from as here they various such places in FrankfurtRhineMain and believes the will always find someone who knows how to cook their national region is mainly doing very well. One of his other daring claims dishes. In actual fact, the countless islands of different cultures is that “a good interview only takes 15 minutes. After that only that you find here round every corner are the launchpad and rarely does anything meaningful get said.” Nevertheless, he entrance portal into civic society. talked to FRM for almost an hour, and it was certainly worth- while (turn to p. 34). As long as these portals remain open no parallel societies arise in which people feel stranded, cut off and thus turn their backs As CEO of FrankfurtRheinMain GmbH I often talk to representa- nostalgically or belligerently on the city and its inhabitants – or tives of foreign companies and notice how the view of our region even turn against them. The portals bear signs such as language is changing. Of course initially hard facts are at the forefront lessons, education, inclusion and job opportunities. Here, above of marketing FrankfurtRhineMain: costs, accessibility, and so all Frankfurt’s business structure fosters integration, turns forth. But nowadays soft factors come into play more quickly arriving into a sense of belonging. A diversified, prosperous than before. Can employees enjoy living here? Will families find business world creates opportunities in a large array of different homes? Are there the right education and training facilities professions, including ones in which you do not need academic for young people? And what about culture and leisure-time qualifications to get a job. A diverse range of education facilities pursuits? I don’t want to give too much away but in this regard offers newcomers a path into the comfort zones of the post-in- FrankfurtRhineMain can offer many an international highlight dustrial world of work. At the same time, they offer locals a (turn to p. 26). constant and vibrant human resource base, where people with new qualifications, fresh ideas, can enjoy slaking their thirst for Not least, FrankfurtRhineMain is repeatedly catching the eye as training, can for themselves find out what it is like to live as free a creative hub. At present the financial industry is experiencing citizens, possibly for the first time without the constraints of an this, as an increasing number of young start-ups are developing authoritarian society. new financial technologies that are changing the face of traditional banking. The region’s outstanding know-how in both All of them together form the well and the engine of the successful segments, finance and technology, means it has a good chance of model that is Frankfurt. To keep this font bubbling healthily is emerging as not only a German but probably an international the joint task of politicians, businesspeople and civic society as a “fintech” hub (turn to p. 14). Wishing you much enjoyment read- whole, if we wish to keep our city lively and prosperous. ing this issue of FRM. Peter Feldmann Eric Menges Mayor of Frankfurt/Main CEO of FRM GmbH PARTNERS OF THIS GOLD SILber ISSUE OF FRM BronZE UNTERSTÜTZER // Contents // Location // Innovations To good working relationships: Working on business development: (left to right) Holger Schach (CEO of Regionalmanagement NordHessen GmbH), Jens Ihle (CEO of Regionalmanagement Mittelhessen GmbH), Dr. Rainer Waldschmidt (CEO of Hessen Trade & Invest GmbH and HA Hessen Hessen Trade & Invest GmbH Agentur GmbH) and Eric Menges (CEO of FrankfurtRheinMain advises foreign companies that wish GmbH International Marketing of the Region). to settle in Hessen, relocate their operations or expand their businesses here. It is a point of contact for investors at state level, offering advice on funding and financing programmes, putting together customised pro These logistics facilities can be found, for instance, in north posals in close collab oration with Hessen, which according to Holger Schach, CEO of Regional- regional and local players, organising management NordHessen GmbH, has in recent years not only location viewings and assisting with evolved into a key logistics and distribution hub in Germany, but approval procedures. THE FINTECH with future technologies in the areas of mobility, renewable energy htai.de invest-in-hessen.de Tilman Lochmüller/lochmüller.MEDIA Tilman and healthcare is also becoming increasingly interesting for international companies. REVOLUTION Hessen is becoming an increasingly attractive prop- Central Hessen as a business and university location also benefits THIRD osition for foreign companies: Last year, Hessen’s from its proximity to the FrankfurtRhineMain metropolitan area, >business development agencies saw 156 companies through the according to Jens Ihle, CEO of Regionalmanagement Mittelhessen process of locating to Hessen for the first time or expanding their GmbH. Moreover, the distance from central Hessen to Frankfurt RECORD existing operations, the majority of them in the FrankfurtRhine- Airport is shorter than the distances within several major interna- An upheaval is underway in the FrankfurtRhineMain financial hub. Main region – the third record year in a row, after 144 companies in tional cities. An increasing number of start-ups are developing new financial 2014 and 119 in 2013. “The operations range from small sales offices We have no influence to factory extensions,” reports Hessen’s Minister of Economics In addition to the cooperation between the players in Hessen, the technologies – and in this way changing traditional banking busi- YEAR IN over our geographical Tarek Al-Wazir. “All in all we are talking about considerable invest- intensive collaboration between Hessen Trade & Invest and ness. A glance at the lofts where the ideas are seeing the light of day ments and about jobs that will be created in the coming years.” Germany Trade & Invest GmbH in Berlin is of central importance. setting, but we need to The federal business development agency acquires investment A ROW TIM KANNING (TEXT) AND JONAS RATERMANN (PHOTOS) The fact that companies are expanding existing operations is a projects for Germany worldwide and then hands them over to the develop the other factors particularly good indication that the investors in question rate the state business development agencies. in a balanced and sus region highly and are planning for the long term, as the Minister tainable way Tarek Al-Wazir explains: “Our big plus point is the combination of a central location, a In 2015 most investments in Hessen came from 37 companies // Hessen’s Minister of good transport infrastructure, outstanding universities and research based in the United States, followed by China with 36, the UK with Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Anyone visiting the FinTech Group in Frankfurt’s Westhafen institutes, excellent, well-qualified personnel, a high quality of life 15 and Japan and South Korea with 9 each. Then came France, Development will immediately and a practiced international outlook. We have no influence over our Switzerland and Turkey with 5 companies each. This means that the guess what it’s all about. From the lobby you can look through a large glass wall geographical setting, but we need to develop the other factors in United States and China are the most important sources of direct into the company’s IT centre. The blinking machines with the myriad of cables a balanced and sustainable way in order for Hessen to remain an investment from abroad in Hessen. handle the data of the companies in the FinTech Group. Security purchases and Kelkheim Frankfurt internationally sought-after location in Germany and Europe.” sales, which are transacted by Flatex.

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